No. 1 USC to host Cal and UCLA in season finale


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After adding two more road wins against the Arizona schools over the weekend, the No. 1-ranked USC women’s volleyball team will be looking forward to some home cooking this Thanksgiving week as they close out their conference schedule at home against crosstown rival UCLA and Cal.

The Women of Troy (29-1, 17-1) will be looking to notch their 30th win on the season on Wednesday evening against the No. 11-ranked Bruins (22-6, 13-5) at 8 p.m. in the Galen Center. Then, USC will honor seniors Samantha Bricio, Alicia Ogoms and Eve Ettinger when they take on Cal (9-20, 3-15) on Friday at 4 p.m. for Senior Night. The Women of Troy are a perfect 15-0 at the Galen Center this season.

During rivalry week, USC will look to come away victorious like they did in September when they swept the Bruins in Pauley Pavilion. In that    Pac-12 conference opener, USC was led by freshman outside hitter Alyse Ford who had 11 kills, while junior middle blocker Elise Ruddins added eight kills and four blocks to stop the Bruin offense.

Not much has changed in the Trojan lineup since then, as USC is still led by National Player of the Year candidate Samantha Bricio. The senior outside hitter leads the nation in points and aces per set and will look to add to her career kill total at USC when the Bruins come to Troy. Against Oregon State two weeks ago, Bricio became the school’s all-time kills leader with her 1,919th kill in the match, passing former All-American Alex Jupiter (2008-11). After a combined 47-kill effort this past weekend against No. 23 Arizona and No. 24 Arizona State, Bricio also moved into seventh all-time in Pac-12 history for kills (1,966).

USC has also jumped back to the top of the AVCA National Rankings thanks to the play of freshman setter Baylee Johnson. The Dayton, Ohio, native produced her team-leading 15th double-double of the year against ASU and recorded a total of 61 assists, 20 digs, seven blocks and seven kills on the weekend. Those strong contributions resulted in Johnson being named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week, the first weekly award of her young career.

Overall, USC leads both of the all-time series against UCLA and Cal. Against the Bruins, the Women of Troy have a 56-49 edge all-time, but have split the last ten matches against UCLA. The match on Wednesday will be the 106th meeting all-time between the crosstown rivals. Against the Golden Bears, USC holds the 53-12 advantage all-time, while also winning eight of the last 10 meetings. In addition, the match on Friday will be the first meeting between the Trojans and the Golden Bears this season. These matches will mark the end of Pac-12 conference play for head coach Mick Haley and the Women of Troy, and both matches will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks.